Em in Ireland: How to Romanticize your Life in Dublin
Em visits the Emerald Isle and doesn't want to leave.
If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Dublin. Seeing Dublin wasn’t my main reason for visiting Ireland. I was there to see my friend, and to hopefully get a view of some of the natural scenery.
But at risk of fitting to much into my trip, and opting for a more laid-back schedule of events, my 5-day adventure with hikes and seaside towns changed to a leisurely visit with a long-time friend in a city that ended up feeling strangely familiar.
I’m not sure why I felt so at home in Dublin. Maybe it’s because it was my first time visiting an English-speaking country since moving to Spain, maybe it’s because I had to stop at T.K. Maxx (their version of T.J. Maxx — exactly the same as in the US, except for the name) for a phone charger. Maybe it’s because, as my Irish neighbor on the flight over put it, I have “Irish connections” (I’m one-quarter Irish, nothing crazy).
My theory for feeling so at home in Dublin? Sally Rooney. I’ve been taking my time savoring her newest book, Intermezzo (my only English-language novel with me in Spain), and I’ve read her other three books over the last two years or so. So when I took my shuttle bus from the airport over to Ringsend, I couldn’t take my eyes off the streets. Dublin Pearse, Nassau Street, Dawson, St. Stephen’s Greens — all sites of the books and characters I love. And when I took the buses by myself with my friend’s extra Leap Card, wired headphones in and The Cranberries blasting, I thought of the Rooney characters taking the bus after getting their hearts broken. Surely this is how people feel when they visit New York City, like they have already been there before.
If you asked me what I did in Ireland, I guess I could only say I went to Dublin. And what did I do in Dublin? I took the bus, I walked, I hiked my scarf up over my face. I never quite got used to the cars driving on the other side of the street. I reminisced with my friend about college days. I pretended to be a student at Trinity.
So if you want to know what things you must do when you go to Dublin, you have my recommendations above. Wear a scarf and take the bus. Have a coffee. Pretend you live there, or that you’re coming back to visit after a long, long time. Travel and move slowly. Savor it like the last few chapter of a great Sally Rooney book you don’t want to put down.
But if you still need more to do, here’s some ideas…
Hodges Figgis Bookstore
Make Hodges Figgis one of your first stops in Dublin, that way you can pick up a book for the rest of the trip. This bookstore is surprisingly huge on the inside, and a quiet retreat from the bustling Dawson Street outside. It’s over 250 years old, making it one of the oldest bookstores in the world.
While I was there, I mulled over the modern Irish fiction section, which is huge. I eventually landed on Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times — an aptly timed book for me to stumble upon as it follows an Irish expat living in Hong Kong, where she teaches English at a TEFL school (that’s basically what I’m doing in Spain, minus the messy love triangle that supposedly ensues in the novel…). I couldn’t help myself and also picked up Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, since I realized I’d never actually read his work; I’ve only seen his shows. They’re both paperback so I decided I could get away with buying them both. Plus, I don’t do a lot of book shopping in Spain.
St. Stephen’s Green
On a warmer day, this would be where I would take myself and my newly bought books. St. Stephen’s Green is a peaceful park in the middle of the city’s hustle and bustle. Just a few steps from the gates of the greens and all the dings of the trams and horns of the cars will fade away.
St. Stephen’s Green felt tranquil and clean. There are well manicured flowerbeds, with crocuses and daffodils in satisfyingly perfect lines and designs. There’s also a pond, where you’ll find ducks and seagulls. That’s one thing about Dublin, there’s so many seagulls. St. Stephen’s Green also had a lot of magpies. Maybe we don’t have magpies in the US, or maybe they’re a different kind of magpie, but I swear the ones in Dublin were magical. Their tail, which looks to be black, glistens a kind of indigo-teal color if you pay enough attention. Their tails are long too, like you’d think they’d be out of balance, but they aren’t.
My friend and hostess Bailey later told me that you’re supposed to greet magpies out loud, to ward off the bad luck they bring. While I didn’t greet them aloud this time, I like to think the attention I paid to them sufficed. I haven’t experienced any bad luck, at least not yet!
The Guinness Storehouse
If you know someone who’s been to Dublin, you probably know about the various booze-related tours you can do. You can do a Jameson’s tasting or you can go to the Guinness Storehouse. Now, I don’t really care for whiskey or Guinness, so I didn’t feel strongly on either. And while my friend who lives in Dublin admitted that the Guinness Storehouse is overpriced and kind of a tourist trap, it’s also kind of a right of passage.
Unless you really love Guinness or have never pondered how beer is made before, the information in the self-guided tour through a kind of Guinness “museum” won’t be anything new to you. While the content is nothing to write home about (or write a Substack on!), there is something to be said for the production value of the place. There are modern lights, water installations, video clips and recreations of old-timey Guinness advertisements from over the years. What you’re really paying for though is the tasting and your included pint up on the top floor of this pint-shaped building.
The tasting actually did teach me how to enjoy a Guinness. You’re not supposed to sip, and you should be exhaling as you drink it. It’s rich, fudgy, and hearty. It’s way better in Dublin than in the States — an opinion backed by the fact that the distributor for Guinness in the US is actually different than in Europe. So if you’re like me and you don’t think you like Guinness, consider that maybe you haven’t had a real one yet.
On the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse, you have a 360 degree view of the city. It’s the perfect place to enjoy your pint and look at all the sites you’ve already been to, now looking from a new vista.
Trinity College
For the ultimate romanticization of your life, you must visit Trinity College. Enjoy the energy of being around students, who sit in groups littering the vibrant greens. Feel free to do as I did, and plug in your headphones and cycle through a variation of Irish musicians on Spotify. Sinéad O’Connor, Hozier, The Cranberries, U2.
For a more intense itinerary, you can go inside the library at Trinity and see the Book of Kells. You do need to purchase a ticket, which was part of what turned me off from it. I’ll see it next time.
I was happy enough to simply wander around, taking in the beautiful architecture and pondering all the brilliant minds who have passed through this school.
The Big Romance
The Big Romance is a cool and swanky vinyl bar with quality craft cocktails and an easygoing vibe. We sat in a round booth with brown leather, dim red lighting, and signed album covers adorning the wall.
While not what you might think of when going out for a drink in Ireland, The Big Romance was an excellent spot to meet and chat with the friends of my friend and hostess. As the night progressed, the music got louder. Between my cucumber and gin “mule” and the funk blasting from the speakers, it became impossible not to shimmy around in my seat.
For your pleasure, find some of the songs played that night at The Big Romance here:
Howth
Howth is an Irish coastal village just north of the city of Dublin. Accessible by public transport, you can get to Howth in about an hour using the Wes Anderson-esque, impeccably tidy, and beautifully chartreuse DART. There’s a 70 Euro charge for putting your feet on the seats — something I couldn’t help but wish they would enforce on my commuter train in Spain.
On your way on the DART, you’ll be along the coast, staring out at the beautiful blue ocean.
From the Howth DART station, we began our hike. Ascending calmly, our walk was accompanied by gorse — a buttercup yellow flower that decorates a shrubby plant. The cliffs were scattered with it, adding a pop of yellow to the landscape of green grass, gray rocks, and the vast teal-blue of the ocean below.
For a portion, we hiked behind a couple and their two dogs, one of which was a tiny off-leash chihuahua or terrier mix of some kind. Don’t ask me, I don’t know dog breeds. He was our entertainment, as he carried in his mouth a small stick that was a bit too big for him. He would momentarily stop, to sniff something or to adjust his stick, losing footing with his humans and dog-brother up ahead. In a final, disheartening climax to his story, we watched as he dramatically paused, dropped his stick for a beat, and watched his humans continue to summit without pause. In what I could only assume was a panic, he melodramatically looked at his stick — which was just too heavy — and his humans. Finally, he chose his humans, running to catch up, and his stick left behind for us to pass.
So yes, we hiked, we people-watched. We narrated the inner thoughts and feelings of this little dog. We took a break in a grassy patch and overheard conversations in foreign languages, trying to guess where our fellow hikers might be from.
As you continue the path, you can keep going until you reach the lighthouse. We were getting a bit hungry, so we opted to not continue all the way there. Instead, we closed out the giant loop we were making, and headed back to the DART station, stopping for a coffee and snack to-go along the way.
The DART is beautiful! It would be a crime to put shoes on that green seat.